Tribal couple locked with child's body in mortuary for 3 hours

In a case of utter negligence, a fourth class employee of the government hospital in Pratapgarh district, kept locked a tribal couple in the mortuary for three hours along with their son's body. The child was admitted in the hospital in a critical condition after falling from a tree, but he died in the wee hours on Sunday.TNN | June 13, 2017, 04:23 IST

UDAIPUR: In a case of utter negligence, a fourth class employee of the government hospital in Pratapgarh district, kept locked a tribal couple in the mortuary for three hours along with their son's body. The child was admitted in the hospital in a critical condition after falling from a tree, but he died in the wee hours on Sunday.

The body was sent to the morgue for post mortem which was to be conducted in the morning, however, when the wailing mother refused to part with her child, the impatient peon locked them inside and went to sleep. In the morning, when the hospital management came to know of the incident, instead of taking stern action, they let the couple take away the child's body without conducting an autopsy which is mandatory in unnatural death cases.

Chhotu, a 10-year old boy in Haro village under Peepal Khoont police station had fallen down from a tree while playing and got severely injured. His parents rushed him to the civil hospital at district headquarters but the child died past midnight. The doctors on duty sent the body to the mortuary for autopsy around 4 am.

The child's parents Ramesh Meena and Rakmi followed him and when the peon asked them to go out so that he could lock the door, the mother refused to leave the child alone. Seeing them adamant, instead of reporting the authorities, the peon let them stay inside and locked the door and went away. Around 7.30 am when the authorities were informed of the incident, they quickly unlocked the couple and asked them to leave the hospital without completing the formalities.

Meanwhile, even the cops at the hospital chowi didn't take any cognizance of the matter. However, when the news reached the medical authorities, they swung into action. The chief medical and health officer (CMHO) has ordered to constitute a committee and submit a report. " It is neither advisable nor permissible that any living person be locked inside the mortuary under any circumstances. If the couple was not ready to leave the body, the employee should have reported the matter to his seniors. Stringent action will be taken" Dr RadheyShyam Kachhawa , the CMHO told TOI.The PeepalKhoont police has reportedly recorded the statement of the couple claiming that they didn't want an autopsy to be conducted and hence they willingly took away the body from the hospital, sources claimed.

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